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(Hypertension. 1997;30:569.)
© 1997 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Gene I/D Polymorphism and Carotid Plaques in Japanese

Yasujirou Watanabe; Tomoaki Ishigami; Yoshiyuki Kawano; Takahiko Umahara; Akitoshi Nakamori; Shunsaku Mizushima; Kiyoshi Hibi; Izumi Kobayashi; Kouichi Tamura; Hisao Ochiai; Satoshi Umemura; Masao Ishii

From the Department of Internal Medicine, Nanasawa Rehabilitation Hospital (Y.W., Y.K., T.U., A.N.); the Second Department of Internal Medicine (T.I., K.H., I.K., K.T., H.O., S.U., M.I.); and the Department of Public Health (S.M.), Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.

Correspondence to Satoshi Umemura, MD, Second Department of Internal Medicine, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236, Japan.

Abstract To clarify the role of genetic factors in atherosclerotic plaque formation in the carotid artery and magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in the brain, we investigated the association of these abnormalities with the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genotype. One hundred sixty-nine subjects (age, 59.2±0.8 years, mean±SE) admitted to our hospital for health checkups underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate lacunar infarction. B-mode ultrasound examinations of the carotid arteries were performed to detect atherosclerotic plaque. The I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene was determined by the polymerase chain reaction method. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to assess the effects of the following variables on the presence of plaque, mean plaque thickness, and number of plaques: fibrinogen, sex, age, body mass index, mean blood pressure, glycosylated hemoglobin, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, hematocrit, and the D allele of the ACE gene. The frequency of carotid atherosclerotic plaque was significantly (P=.034) higher in subjects with the D allele than in those without this allele. However, the frequency of lacunar stroke was similar in these groups. A multivariate regression analysis showed that the presence of plaque was independently associated with the D allele (odds ratio=3.27, P=.016). However, mean plaque thickness and the number of plaques were not associated with the D allele. The D allele of the ACE gene may be involved in the presence of carotid plaque but not in the extent of this plaque or asymptomatic lacunar stroke in Japanese subjects.

Key Words: angiotensin-converting enzyme • genes • atherosclerosis, carotid arteries • ultrasonography • asymptomatic lacunar stroke

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